Wolverines season ends with loss to Sugar-Salem in state quarterfinal

The Weiser Wolverines travelled to Madison Stadium in Rexburg, Idaho last Saturday to take on the Sugar-Salem Diggers in the quarterfinals of the state championship.  
 Sugar-Salem came in as the second seed in the state tournament receiving a bye last week and two weeks to prepare for the Wolverines.  
 Weiser was seeded seventh and was coming off of a huge 42-0 win against Fruitland the week before.  
 Playing on the turf field at Madison Stadium was something unfamiliar to the Wolverines, but that wasn’t the only challenge they would face.  
 Coming off of the game against Fruitland, junior quarterback, Brett Spencer, was nursing an AC joint in his shoulder while Willy Shirts had some muscle and nerve issues in his neck. Both powered through those injuries to play in the game on Saturday.  
 “Brett was back to near full strength Friday, he played remarkable considering the injury. He along with Willy Shirts played through it and played extremely hard,” Head Coach Tom Harrison stated.  
 The Wolverines couldn’t quite get the offense running as smoothly and quickly as they wanted during the game despite some new run plays with Beau Shields getting a few first downs, and consistent run plays by Willy Shirts, Jack Burke, and Michael Youngberg.  
 Brett Spencer tried throwing to a variety of receivers including Brayden Walker, Brock Spencer, Levi Estes, and Bryce Crimin.  
 On defense, Weiser experienced some adversity not being able to stop drives the way they have in the past.
 The Wolverines would end up scoring once in the loss to the Diggers 34-8, but this was the second week in a row that the Wolverines did not turn the ball over on offense.  
 “We had some bad breaks. Some key penalties hurt us and Sugar won up front. We were depending on being able to run between the tackles,” stated Harrison.
 “Most notably the immediate loss of two way starter and team captain, Kooper von Brethorst during the first quarter was tough,” Harrison lamented.  von Brethorst went out after a block on defense where coaches assume he re-broke his leg, an injury that he missed games for at the beginning of the season.
 Through all of this, Weiser’s fans never gave up on the players or the game.  
 “Thank you to the parents and fans that made the long trip and donated money or food to keep us all comfortable. I am proud of our young men and our coaching staff for their efforts this year,” Harrison said.  
 Harrison also spoke highly of his senior players and looked forward to the next season.  
 “I’m grateful to our senior players and the effort and sacrifice they showed. They are outstanding young men and it has been a pleasure to be their coach. Next year’s team has promise for a great season and after playing Sugar, it is clear they must dedicate themselves to the weight room with the 3A being extremely competitive,” Coach Harrison stated.  “We will also need strong leadership from next year’s seniors to ensure we are doing everything we can in the off-season to be the best we can be.”  
 Weiser will graduate 16 seniors from the program this year, but Weiser football will always be a force to reckon with.  
 Thanks for a great year Wolverines!